“I am Hopeful Because…” 

is the theme for the 2023-24 National PTA® Reflections Arts program which has been bringing the arts to life for more than 10 million students since 1969. California State PTA and its members, families and kids are on the forefront of this amazing program, which increases community awareness of the importance of arts in education.

 

Reflections encourages students of all ages to:

• Unleash creative talents and be inspired

• Express themselves imaginatively in their artwork

• Experience the fun and joy of making art

• Tap into critical thinking skills to create art inspired by the annual theme

• Receive positive recognition for their original works of art.

 

We welcome student submissions Pre-K to 5th Grade in 6 categories:

       Dance Choreography

       Music Composition

       Film Production

       Literature

       Photography

       Visual Arts

Click here to see the California winners of the 2022-2023 Reflections Art Program.

 

Please submit student entries by October 22, 2023 See entry form here.

 

Official Rules

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. (All participants must also follow arts category and if applicable, Special Artist Division rules)

- Only new pieces of artwork inspired by the current year’s theme may be submitted.

- Each entry must be the original work of one student only. An adult may not alter the creative integrity of a student’s work. Because the program is designed to encourage and recognize each student’s individual creativity, help from an adult or collaboration with other students is not allowed except in the Special Artist Division. Other individuals may appear in or perform a student’s work, but the work itself must be the creative product of one student only. Only one student may be recognized as the award recipient for each entry. See the specific arts category rules and special artist division rules for details.

- Each entry must contain a title and all entries must include an artist statement. The artist statement communicates what inspired the work, how it relates to the theme, and the content of the work. The statement must include at least 10 words and not exceed 100 words.

- Use of copyrighted material is prohibited, except for background music in dance choreography and film production entries. If used in dance choreography and film production entries, background music must be cited on the entry form. Plagiarized entries will be disqualified. Use of PowerPoint templates are prohibited.

Dance Choreography

Solo and ensemble works of all dance styles are accepted. Entrant must be the choreographer and may also be the performer, or one of the performers. If background music is used, cite it on the entry form. Video
file must not exceed 5 minutes in length and 1,000 MB (1,000 megabyte) in file size and be in MP4 or AVI format.

Film Production

Accepted short film styles include: Animation, narrative, documentary, experimental or media presentation. Use of PowerPoint is prohibited. Entrant must be the screenwriter, cinematographer, editor and producer.
If background music is used, cite it on the entry form. Video file must not exceed 5 minutes in length and 1,000 MB (1,000 megabyte) in file size and be in MP4 or AVI format.

Literature

Accepted forms of fiction and nonfiction include: Prose, poetry, reflective essay, screen play and play script, narrative, and short story. Entrants may write in their primary language as long as an interpretive English translation is also attached. Use of copyrighted material is prohibited. Writing must not exceed 2,000 words and may be handwritten or typed. Accepted formats: Single-sided print on 8 1⁄2x11” paper, PDF file.

Music Composition

All music styles and combinations of instrumentation are accepted. Entrant must be the composer and may also be the performer, or one of the performers. Use of copyrighted material is prohibited. Audio recording must not exceed 5 minutes in length and 1,000 MB (1,000 megabyte) in file size. Accepted audio file formats include: MP3 and WAV. Notation (score/tablature) in PDF format is only required for middle and high school divisions.

Photography

Photo must be a single print/digital image. Collages and collections of photos are not accepted. Entrant must be the photographer and may use a variety of digital editing techniques including but not limited to, multiple exposure, negative sandwich and photogram. Use of copyrighted material is prohibited. Print image dimensions must be no smaller than 3x5 inches and no larger than 8x10 inches. Accepted print formats: Mounted on mat or poster board no larger than 11x14 inches. Framed prints are not accepted. Digital image dimensions must be at least 640x960 (pixels) and 300 dpi (resolution). Accepted file formats: JPEG, JPG, and PNG.

Visual Arts

Works of both fine and design arts are accepted, including but not limited to: architectural drawing and models, ceramics, collage, computer generated images and graphics, crafts, drawing, fashion clothes
and jewelry, fiber work, mixed media, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Use of copyrighted material
is prohibited. 2D artworks must be mounted on sturdy material and no larger than 24x30 inches with matting. Framed entries are not accepted. Include one digital image of artwork with your submission. 3D artwork submissions must contain 3 digital images of artwork at different angles. Image(s) are used for artwork identification, judging and exhibition purposes. Accepted file formats: JPEG, JPG, and PNG.

Special Artist

Students who identify as having a disability and may receive services under IDEA or ADA: Section 504 may enter in the Special Artist Division OR grade division most closely aligned to their functional abilities. See Official Rules for details.